Apple's Most Powerful Mac Workstation Ever Goes On Sale

By Mona Bushnell, B2B Tech Writer December 12, 2017 01:05 pm EST

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Credit: Apple

The most exciting thing to come out of WWDC 2017 was the announcement of the new iMac Pro, which the company claims is not only the most powerful iMac workstation ever, but the most powerful Mac ever created. Apple also announced some upgrades to the beloved MacBook line, which has long been a hit with creative entrepreneurs and small business owners alike.

Credit: Apple

The new iMac Pro

The entry-level (if you can call it that) iMac Pro will start at $4,999 and comes loaded with an insanely powerful 8-core Xeon processor, which you can upgrade to a 10-core or 18-core Xeon CPU if you need even more power. The desktop can also be configured with up to 128GB of memory and 4TB SSD. The "world's most powerful Mac" also sports all the ports you could want, including four Thunderbolt 3 ports, an SDXC card slot, a USB 3 and (for the first time on any Mac) a 10GB Ethernet port.

The iMac Pro will be available starting on Dec. 14, 2017. Of course, most entrepreneurs don't need the horsepower (or price tag) that comes with the new iMac Pro, which is probably why Apple also introduced updates to its beloved MacBook line.

Credit: Apple

Updates to the MacBook line

The MacBook and MacBook Pro lines still look the same. But they are both getting upgraded to seventh-generation Intel Kaby Lake CPUs, which means they'll be more powerful than before. The 13-inch MacBook Pro is also getting a little more affordable with a new $1,299 starting price, and the inclusion of Intel Iris Plus Graphics 650 should make the higher-end MacBooks better able to handle intensive graphics. There will be faster SSDs built into all the updated MacBooks and MacBook Pros. The MacBook Air isn't being left behind either; it's getting a more powerful 1.8GHz processor to keep pace with other slim laptops on the market. The updated MacBook, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air are all available now.

Mona Bushnell

Mona Bushnell is a New York City-based Staff Writer for Tom’s IT Pro, Business.com and Business News Daily. She has a B.A. in Writing, Literature, and Publishing from Emerson College and has previously worked as an IT Technician, a Copywriter, a Software Administrator, a Scheduling Manager and an Editorial Writer. Mona began freelance writing full-time in 2014 and joined the Purch team in 2017.